# Characterize Yourself As a Trainer



## Blastoise Fortooate (Apr 26, 2011)

As the title says, what quirks do you have as a pokémon trainer, breeder, coordinator, etc.? What makes your way of playing unique from some other person's? Do you nickname everything after your cousins? Do you only play with pokémon that have the suffix or prefix 'king'? Tell us!


As for me, I can't for the life of me stick to a team for any length of time. I can manage to get through the League without getting too sidetracked, but after that I just keep switching from 'water monotype!' to 'flying monotype' to 'I want a shuppet!' and on and on. I also nickname _everything _but my legendaries.


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## mewtini (Apr 26, 2011)

Blastoise said:


> As for me, I can't for the life of me stick to a team for any length of time. I can manage to get through the League without getting too sidetracked, but after that I just keep switching from 'water monotype!' to 'flying monotype' to 'I want a shuppet!' and on and on. I also nickname _everything _but my legendaries.


This. THIS.

except I only nickname *most* of my Pokemon.


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## Arylett Charnoa (Apr 26, 2011)

I only nickname things I'm going to use, Legendaries (don't use them though in parties, I don't believe in that), and Pokémon I'm given in-game for free. The nicknames tend to be either relevant words from my madeup language, something from an RP/story I wrote, rarely something from a series/movie/whatever I like, or most likely, something I completely invented out of nowhere in five seconds and decided to apply it. Also, I have a very obsessive habit about having ALL of my Pokémon at EXACTLY the same level. When I train them, when one or more get one level above the others, I move it to the back and REFUSE to use it even if it hits super-effectively on the opponent's Pokémon until all the others have gotten to its level too. And yes, even if there's only one Pokémon left that's a level bellow the others, I must ONLY use that one until it catches up. When they're all at the same level, they are all usable again.

Oh and I have a mini-tradition of catching the first Pokémon I'm going to use after my starter in my party with a Premier Ball. And another tradition of always picking the Grass-starter regardless of whether I like the other starters better.

Lastly, my parties usually are composed of the following types: Fire, Psychic, Flying (ALWAYS have one of these for Fly), Water, Grass, Electric. I dislike using Fighting-types, Ground-types, Rock-types, and Steel-types because I find them boring even though I know these types do a lot of damage and are quite viable. I'll only use Pokémon from these types if I really like their appearance. In fact, I pick entire parties based mostly on if I like how a Pokémon looks, if I like its design. It could have the best stats in the world, but if I find it ugly, I am not using it at all. And vice-versa as well.


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## RespectTheBlade (Apr 26, 2011)

I have a constant drive to train everything equally. When I play, I sometimes stop and look at the levels of my chosen six pokemon, and literally grind for days on end until they're all about the same level. I actually hoard rare candies until right before I get to the elite four, so I can distribute them as egually as possible among my party at the last moment. I also have spent weeks training on end just to secure myself that I /am/ strong enough to beat the elite four.

As for types, I usually catch in two categories: "awesome" or "practical" I catch whatever pokemon strikes me as being completely awesome. This is why I never caught a rapidash in platinum, or trained one of the monkeys in B/W, or trained any bird in really any series. They didn't strike me as worth catching, because of how common they were. I actually think I went out of the way to capture a Togekiss or Honchkrow in HG/SS so I could have a flying pokemon. I also train dragons, ice types, and fighting ttypes, but never the common fighting type you find at the beginning of each game. I think it's that I like to hunt out, capture and train rare pokemon. I also tend to use HM slaves if the pokemon I caught can't use an HM that I need, but I rarely use them otherwise. I also tend to have a surprising lack of fire, grass, and water types on my teams, strangely enough. I usually end up ditching my starter after a while. I rarely nickname pokemon, unless  I get a really good idea.

Other quirks- I tend to ignore items I know need an HM until post-game, then end up going back to get them for them to only be a potion or something. I also detest he HMs cut, strength, and rock smash, and never use them unless absolutely neccesary. This is why Victory Road in every game except HG/SS and the Ilex Forest bug me so much.


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## River (Apr 26, 2011)

Arylett Dawnsborough said:


> Also, I have a very obsessive habit about having ALL of my Pokémon at EXACTLY the same level. When I train them, when one or more get one level above the others, I move it to the back and REFUSE to use it even if it hits super-effectively on the opponent's Pokémon until all the others have gotten to its level too. And yes, even if there's only one Pokémon left that's a level bellow the others, I must ONLY use that one until it catches up. When they're all at the same level, they are all usable again.


This.

I also have a habit of catching a Zubat at the first chance, no matter what level, and it usually stays with me until I finish the main story line.


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## Time Psyduck (Apr 26, 2011)

I use my pokémon in sequence - I level each one in turn, and once it levels up a new one comes in. The lead has to face anything it comes across, unless the odds are very much against it (higher level opponent that walls it and can deal super-effective hits back or similar, or if I'm switch-training), in which case something else that's due to level up goes in. I'm less strict with this post game, as my team usually collapses at this point, and I was rotating 12 pokémon in white, so some could gain 2 or more levels before I rotated them out.

Also, I always use the starter. Always. No Exceptions. Except one time on Ruby, but I was only playing through to get the other fossil/Clamperl evo, and at the point I dropped my starter I brought in some old starters anyway, so it's not so big of a deal. My starter is also the highest level pokémon I have, unless I caught something that's a higher level, but then that doesn't get used until the starter catches up.

For nicknames, I use either real names or mythological ones. Real names are usually something that is at least partly in the species name at at least one form or references some media or other. Mythological ones are selected based on some common factor between the pokémon and it's namesake. Usually - it gets tricky finding something for a pair of gears. Even then it's not consistent - Ruby and Diamond don't have nicknames (Diamond did at one point, but they were removed) Emerald used only real names, and only on non-legendaries, Platinum uses a mixture, and everything is nicknames, and White uses only mythology, only on non-legendary generation 5 Pokémon, apart from stuff off the GTS and so far one older pokémon with a 'real' name.


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## Bombsii (Apr 26, 2011)

I would describe myself as a bug catcher or something along those lines, because of my obsession with catching and collecting them, as well as being a big bug fanboy.

When it comes to in-game, I try to make every save file I create a different style, to spice things up. In recent teams i've noticed a pattern though, I almost always get rid of the starter, I prefer to keep a team of 2-3 until up about the end of the game & I always give them friendly, cutesy nicknames. Like actual pets, I nicknamed my Osshawott, Washie and my Lilligant, Missy.


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## Superbird (Apr 26, 2011)

Like a few other people I've seen, I basically just train one pokémon until it's a level higher, then train everyone else on my team until they're all that level. Then train them a little more. Like that. Postgame, this strategy _sort of_ falls apart, but even then I keep everyone /around/ the same level.

As for nicknames, I almost NEVER nickname my Pokémon, mainly because I can't find any good ideas for nicknames. And when I do, they're not pet names or names of people I know in real life, but things like "Firestrike" or something. Or "Drillbud" for Ferroseed.


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## Squornshellous Beta (Apr 26, 2011)

I train my starter. And only my starter.

Admittedly, early in the game, I might need to catch something to help out, like Sawk in Black, but I won't actively train them. This tends to mean that the starter ends up _way_ overleveled, so it tends to work out.

And also I catch every new thing I come across.

And I never nickname them. Ever.


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## Phantom (Apr 26, 2011)

I am basically the same as Squorn. I train my starter. Which usually by Elite Four time is a good twenty levels, at least higher than the rest of my team. And I never nickname. The rest of my pokemon are HM slaves and I don't care. I also am a yeller... I start screaming at my DS when I lose... or if I win for that matter.  I tried to train them all at once one time and I lost patience and started over. Also I always chose the fire starter... a tradition since the original. I also only catch pokemon I like or are really high leveled or legendary. And I never use legendaries. Ever. That's cheap.


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## sv_01 (Apr 26, 2011)

Well, I might be like a Cool/Ace trainer or a Beauty. My main intention is to complete the Pokédex, which makes me universal, but I also have some preferences (the Grass and Ice types, for example) I also don't like Pokémon that are hard to train (Wobbuffet), ugly(Pinsir/Muk) or just have never been supposed to know any Special moves (Fighting-types) (overlaps with the "ugly" ones as well). Sometimes I try to get the right ability and sometimes I try to get a female for no practical reason.
I always have an HM-based team with me, and those are my strongest Pokémon because I often use them. Like when I am training a weak Grass-type in Victory Road and encounter a Golbat.
When I am not desperately trying to defeat someone important, I try to train all my Pokémon to a particular level which is dividable by ten, leaving the higher ones as they are. That means that when I am training to level 40, I don't withdraw the ones that are level 40 and higher from the computer.
When a Pokémon evolves by a Stone or levelling up when holding an item, I evolve it when it knows all the moves I want it to know as the lower stage. When it learns good moves after evolving as well, I try to find the right level.
I sometimes go to the massagge salon, the Ribbon Syndicate and the Footprint man with a Pokémon even though it doesn't evolve by happiness (mostly with the Pokémon that don't like me by default), but when it does, I do so every day until I get a Footprint Ribbon. Then, I level it up.
I don't want to have duplicit Pokémon, so I sometimes release them. Yes, a bit like a female Pokédex-oriented Paul, but I have feelings towards my starter and some Pokémon that are special in certain ways. I even felt a bit guilty when I released my first Azumarill in Sapphire, and the reasons for having his son know the same moves were both practical and emotional.
I don't nickname my Pokémon in the main Pokémon games. I only do so in Explorers of Time. There, my main character has my real name and my secondary main character Chikorita's name is Margaret because Chikorita contains "Rita" and Meganium contains "Meg", of which both are versions of Margaret. Some of my other Pokémon have names composed of words that are associated with them. For example, Anorith is Shellblade and Glameow is KittyClaw. If I get a Skitty, I will probably name it KittyPaws. I am also planning to have some patterns in naming the legendaries. Like: Ice Gyaah, Elec Gyaah and Fire Gyaah for the Kanto Trio, Lord Gyaah for Ho-oh, Lady Gyaah for Lugia or Stone Reg, Frosty Reg, Metal Reg and Big Reg for the Regis.


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## Mendatt (Apr 26, 2011)

I usually select a few pokemon I like when I start a game, and I refuse to catch or use any pokemon but them. Sometimes I even leave out my starter. I did that in the hoenn games, with Ralts, Nincada, Seedot, Feebas, and Skitty. And it doesn't matter how weak they are. Because I spend more time strategizing than I do playing.


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## spaekle (Apr 26, 2011)

Whenever I start a new game I try to use Pokemon I've never used before. I've found a lot of new favorites (Ninjask, Porygon-Z, Cradily) this way. 
I like having a varied team. Varied in terms of, well, everything - it bothers me to have too many Pokemon that are all the same color, too many males vs. females and vice-versa, too many physical attackers, etc etc. 
I always nickname the Pokemon I use. 
I never nickname legendaries. I rarely even _use_ legendaries, though I've trained a Raikou before and I plan on training my Cobalion. 
I will not use a Pokemon if it has a bad nature. I also hate neutral natures (hardy, docile, serious, etc). I'll settle on a nature that's good but not the best if I'm tired of looking, but if the nature sucks ass I consider the Pokemon unusable. 
If I happen to catch a Pokemon with a good nature by coincidence I'll put it in my "to train" box. Though note that most of the Pokemon in my "to train" box end up sitting there indefinitely. :c 
I also can't disregard EV's. Even when I don't feel like keeping my notebook by my side while I play I'll still only train my Pokemon against Pokemon that give beneficial EV's. This CAN be an exception while I'm playing through the story since with all the unavoidable battles it's harder to do, but when postgame rolls around I'm likely to ditch my ingame party for EV trained pogeys. (Though EV trained or not my ingame party will always have good natures, so that in the event I get enough EV-reducing berries I can fix them :>)
I never really do contests. They're kind of fun in RSE but I stopped caring after that. And even in RSE I'll only do them when I'm super bored, or to put my Pokemon with unusable natures to use somehow. 

Edit:

On yelling at your game: I think I scared my roommate when I was raging at Ghetsis' Hydreigon. Haha.


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## Chief Zackrai (Apr 26, 2011)

I train one pokemon up five levels, and then switch to the pokemon that is closest to leveling, and raise them five levels, and so on. As you might imagine, this gets annoying with six pokemon. Oh, and levels trump exp. points. Like, if I have a pokemon that's already level 26, and it's like 3000 exp. from level 27, it gets priority over the pokemon that has 3 exp. from level 26.

I nickname every pokemon I catch, and am usually very picky. (except in nuzlockes). Before I start a game, I always have at least a general idea of my team. I often do mono-type runs and nuzlockes. Right now, I have three nuzlockes (Gold, Emerald, and Heartgold) and three monos running. (Grass in Sapphire, Fighting in Platinum, and Flying in Leafgreen)

In games that I decide to do just a random run-through, with no specific rules, my teams tend to be biased. Like, If I were to do a run in Platinum for no reason, my team would likely be Torterra, Houndoom, Crobat, Luxray, Girafarig/Vespiquen (if I had the ambition to get one), and Tentacruel/Gastrodon/Peliper (I'd actually go in and decide this first)

so yeah.


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## BlackTitress (Apr 26, 2011)

I've noticed a pattern where normally the first six pokemon I get stay with me until the end of the storyline. Post Game, I try to evolve the pokemon that haven't evolved yet in my box. I also used to have the habit of teaching my Pokemon moves I thought were cool for them. (Ex. I taught my Platinum Rampardos Thunderbolt 'cause I thought it was cool for a rock dinosaur to shoot lightning.)


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## Byrus (Apr 26, 2011)

Let's see...

- I always use my starter and I always choose my favourite regardless of its type, stats or movepool. In the first generation it was Bulbasaur, in the second it was Totodile, in the third it was Treecko, in the fourth it was Turtwig and in the fifth it was Snivy. (I'm mostly partial to the grass type starters I guess) 

- I nickname all my Pokémon. Although I tend to run out of inspiration a lot, especially with ones I'm not interested in, so most of my nicknames are pretty silly. I mostly just use somewhat cool sounding gibberish or a combination of words when I can't think of anything. I only really put thought into the nicknames of my main team and assorted Pokémon that I like but have no room to use. 

- I always add Houndoom to my team as soon as I can get it (dammit why didn't I get black...) and I always like to have at least one poison type when possible.

- I try to EV train when I can... but it's gets a little annoying sometimes. I also try to get a semi-decent nature for my main battlers. I never do competitive play anyway, so I guess I'm a little lax in those areas. I used to be really into it though, and kept a notepad of what effort points each Pokémon gave and stuff.


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## I liek Squirtles (Apr 26, 2011)

I nickname my party, stick with them and ONLY them, and they are generally early-game ones. Plus, my nickname have a random root. (like Mariachi on my Pidgeot)


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## Aethelstan (Apr 28, 2011)

I never, repeat NEVER give my Pokemon nicknames. Partly because I enjoy the original names of most of them anyway, but mostly because I'm afraid I'm going to give them a dorky name I'll regret (Name Rater is meaningless, it'll haunt me forever in my mind)

Like a few other people, I train around whoever is the highest level at the time. Which is usually my starter, because I have this awkward fear of my starter not being the highest level Pokemon I have at all times, even though I try to keep a balanced team.

Becuase of the above, I usually build a strategically effective team around my starter. I choose a Pokemon to cover my starter's type weaknesses, then choose another to cover _that_ Pokemon's weaknesses, and so on and so forth until I have a team I'm satisfied with. This is the team I usually finish the game with, typically leaving my legendaries to starve in the PC.

As for other habits not related to my team, I carry at least 30 Pokeballs (yes, Pokeballs, not Great or Ultra Balls) around with me at all times to catch anything new. I, for whatever reason, have an aversion to the designs of the other balls, so I only use Pokeballs most of the time, unless the situation demands something better. But yeah, catching legendaries usually takes me forever, due to an obsessive compulsive thing that forces me to put all my Pokemon in the same kind of ball. 

Man, this sure revealed a bunch of my strange fears and behaviors. I better get therapy or something.


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## Tailsy (Apr 28, 2011)

I always have a preset team before I play, and I'll only catch and use those particular Pokémon. I always have a naming theme going on, too! 

I train in fives - I get my starter to level 15, stop, train my second Pokémon to level 15, stop, train my starter to level 20... so on. 

I usually don't use Legendaries, and I rarely use Flying-types because I just... don't. I WALK EVERYWHERE
WALKING IS HEALTHY


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## Worst Username Ever (Apr 28, 2011)

I always make sure to include some or other Flying-type on my team by the time I get Fly, so I can easily... just fly everywhere.


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## Sesquipedalian! (May 2, 2011)

I decide to continually and constantly nickname my various Pokemon on historical figures, and in the case of this current generation, chemical elements. It has become a rather odd habit of myself, especially considering the negative reactions by a handful of my close friends when they soon realize this pattern follows into legendaries as well.


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## Aletheia (May 2, 2011)

I always nickname my Pokemon! (based on their appearance)

As far as strategy goes, I'm... not really a healthy trainer. I never check for happiness, but I can guarantee you most of my Pokemon hate me. Mostly just because I tend to sacrifice all but one of them whenever I find myself in a major battle.


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## NightGhost (May 2, 2011)

I tend to name 'majestic' female pokemon(gardevior, milotic, roserade, ninetails, bellossom, delcatty, espeon, mew, frosslass, lopunny, etc) after names I would name my daughter.(Julia, Amy, Rose, Crystal, Ebony, etc)


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## Not Meowth (May 2, 2011)

No nicknames ever.
And I always absolutely must have my starter at a higher level than anything else on my team. Or if I'm not using my starter, whatever my favourite is. Even if I'm grinding something else up to take on a gym or whatever, if it ends up equalling my starter I have to get my starter up a few levels so I can keep on training the other.

I always store legendaries away in a box never to be removed, except for if I'm on Emerald and cant be bothered to train for E4 and break out the Rayquaza instead, or the short time where I toyed with having a Zekrom on my White team. Also back during Silver's heyday I had a lv100 Mewtwo I kept swapping between my Yellow and Silver games every time I restarted. I may still have that Mewtwo, actually.

Also, from Gen 4 onwards I've taken to setting aside a box so I can have an enormous party and use the 40+ Pokémon in rotation as and when I feel like using them. Usually in the postgame, though; I tend to stick to a party of six throughout the main story. Though any Pokémon that get discarded from my party as it develops usually end up in the party box.

EVs and natures can go fuck themselves.

No Great Balls ever. I stick to Poké Balls until Ultras are available and then skip straight over to them. I really don't know why. I also avoid ever using my Master Ball unless I can help it. Again, absolutely no reason. And I always buy Poké Balls in nines because Premier Balls are stupid.

I never, ever used to use female Pokémon. Like, if a female of a Pokémon I wanted came up I'd consciously ignore it and wait for a male. _Again, for no actual reason_. I've stopped caring about this so much but my teams still always end up 80% male. Because I'm apparently an evil misogynist wanker at heart.


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## Zero Moment (May 2, 2011)

-I always nickname my Pokemon that I like/are in my main team. ALWAYS. And they have to make sense, too. (Ex. Tesla for Tynamo, Venus (Fly Trap) for Snivy, ect.)

-I do the weird level thing where I level up once then switch out to a lower leveled Pokemon. This deteriorates mid-game, though, and I just go with who's evolving next/learning a good move/ ect.

-I plan my team before I buy the game, based on stats and general awesomeness of final evo/kawaii-ness of base form, along with the standard Fire/Water/Grass/Flying/Electric/Random thing. I usually don't stick to the type plan if I don't find one good enough for me.

-I never use legends in my party. I just collect them (hence my name) and store them in the Legend box.


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## NightGhost (May 3, 2011)

I love leveling up Magikarp. I spent 1000 in pokemon blue and now have 2 lvl 75 gyarados's. I'm gonna do the same thing in my pokemon white. Also I tend to start breeding for shiny but give up after I fill up 2 PC boxes full, even using masuda method(or whatever it is called, using Jap ditto)


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## Solefald (May 9, 2011)

- Every Pokemon I catch has to have a nickname and that nickname has to be correct, case wise (eg. it has to be 'Name', rather than 'NAME' or 'name').

- I prefer male Pokemon because I think male names are better and easier to come up with than female names.

- I rarely keep my starter on my team, especially if it's a Gen VI or Gen V game. Instead, I just find what works for me and go with it. My team usually gets established fairly early in the game and I feel really guilty if I replace an 'original' member during my run through.


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## Dannichu (May 9, 2011)

I nickname everything, normally on a theme, usually after whatever TV show I'm watching at any given moment. When I run out of names of characters, I start naming them after whatever comes to mind, which are usually either random objects in the room (so I end up with PC boxes full of "Chair" and "Green Mug") or food items (this usually happens when I'm hungry).

I get _ridiculously_ attached to certian Pokemon on my team - there's no real rhyme or reason as to which Pokemon I fall in love with, although being named after my favourite characters helps - and start hating on other team members if they keep levelling up before my faves.

As for teams, I use whatever I like. I don't care too much about Evs or what Pokemon are objectively good, although I _do_ enjoy thrashing my housemate at every oppurtunity.
I also try and use a different set of Pokemon every runthrough, although I have something like four level 100 Swamperts on Ruby somewhere.


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## Minish (May 10, 2011)

I nickname everything! Usually I'll go with a naming theme for my team and just name everything else after random things like Dannichu does. XD I think I had a while where I used a random word from its Pokedex entry. My naming themes are usually fandoms I'm really into at the moment, but more recently just something like stars or types of trees or flowers which is super-fun.

I get pretty attached to my main team, to the point where I have a huge love for that species forever after using it. I like to use things I haven't used before, too! That's why I find monos and Nuzlockes so fun! I don't care about EVs or anything like that at all, but I _do_ pay attention to what natures things have so that I can develop their personalities in my head. :D

I often restart until I get a female starter, too. Just, like. Because. And I have a good liking for water (especially gen 1 for some reason, Lapras and Starmie omg <3), grass or flying Pokes! That's all I can think of right now.


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## Darksong (May 10, 2011)

Well, sort of on topic, I use every chance I get to name a Pokemon after a character from a show or a book or whatever, even if I'm just going to throw it in the PC afterwards. I do this more than I'm conscious of, apparently, because the three effort-trained Pokemon that I use in the Battle Tower are all named after TV show characters! And I didn't realize this until recently... (Come to think of it, I also spend days or weeks trying to get a certain Shiny Pokemon if I think of a good character that it goes with... or if I'm lucky, I already have that shiny, so I just have to rename it. But I try to name Shinies after characters especially.)

I don't think I have any strange habits when it comes to training... I sometimes nickname, sometimes don't... currently on my team, half of my Pokemon have nicknames and half don't. But that's because I'm in the postgame, and usually when I'm going through at the beginning, I nickname every Pokemon on my team. And sometimes I give crazy random nicknames, and sometimes they make sense. For example, whenever I catch a Sawk, I nickname it "Sock," but the Scraggy that I used throughout Black was nicknamed "Shoes" (and somehow he ended up on the team at the same time as Sock at some point, which makes a little sense). 

I also tend to get really attached to the Pokemon I name after TV/book characters, even if I don't particularly like the characters themselves. 

And sometimes I remember having a Pokemon years ago and nicknaming it something totally random, so when I catch a Pokemon of that same species, I give it the same name as the Pokemon years ago (like Firemy the Charmander or Ayena the Mightyena). I tend to like to bring back old things that I used to do in my Pokemon games... the Firemy the Charmander thing is extreme, since that's the first thing that I ever did the first time I ever played a Pokemon game -- I picked up Pokemon Blue, wondering what it was, and chose Charmander and called it Firemy. I'd still like to restart the Blue version that I have and do that over again at some point.


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## Orahklas (May 10, 2011)

Before I actually start a new game I also pre-plan an amazing team I would use, but come actually playing the game I end up using the first couple of pokemon I caught because I grow madly attached to them and feel guilty if the faint. Before Gen V I would always, always have a crobat in my team, I guess there's just something about seeing a virtual animal alter shape because it was programmed to love you just because you walked around with it that tugs at my rusty heart strings, that and it can fly me everywhere. I never pick starters based on type, movepool, usability but instead on just how adorable they are hence totodile, torchic, turtwig and teapig. I have the rather irritating habit of giving an individual 'name' to every single pokemon I catch, I say 'name' because it usually just boils down to random strings of letters in the semblance of a pronounceable word. I also never, never use any rare candies or the master ball, I hoard them instead because you just never know when you might need them.
Oh my quaint and humorous traits, how you bother me so.

~Oh~


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## hopeandjoy (May 10, 2011)

*Nicknames are properly cased
*Nicknames are based off of characteristics of the Pokémon
*I try for balanced gender, but ti doesn't always work out correctly
*Male trainer. Always. Better design and nostalgia.
*Canon names for PC. Correct language too, unless Pokémon Black and White. Hilbert and Hilda? Hell no, sticking with Touya and Touko thankyouverymuch.
*No legionaries. Why would I stop using the Pokémon I just grinded non-stop?
*I plan my team out and only catch them unless I need a crutch. Said crutch then gets boxed.
*I actually get a little bit worried about my Pokémon when they're about to faint. And I have a habit of cheering them on.
*I don't use HM Slaves; HM moves are spread around. Unless it's Black and White in which Cut goes on the soon-to-be boxed monkey, Fly goes on my Flying type, and Surf goes on my Water-type.
*The pattern for my team is Water/Fire/Grass/Flying/Electric/Psychic or Dark. Dual types preferred for variety. Starter stays on team.

And that's all I can think of.


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## Munchkin (May 11, 2011)

- Every time I name a character or Pokémon, it's properly cased.
- When trying to catch a legendary or generally difficult-to-catch Pokémon and failing for the first few dozen times, I give the Pokémon an evil stare and if I still don't catch it, I whimper and beg into the microphone.
- I used to have a theme for naming my Pokémon in each game. For example, in Emerald, all my Pokémon were named after foods. In Platinum, their names all started with C (with the exception of iCarly, but C was still the first capital letter in her name).
- This seems to have fallen apart, though now I just try to name my Pokémon according to what suits them. If nothing suitable comes to mind, I name them the first word or name that pops into my head. I also tend to form a chain with their names. For example, in XD my character name is Epic - my Eevee was then named Casseius and my next obtained Pokémon's name started with S.


I'll post more when i think of them?


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## Lili (May 20, 2011)

I train my Pokemon to be the best of the best, only allowing Pokemon with higher level than the ones on my team to be on my team.  I hardly ever try to complete a PokeDex, I only want to become stronger and become champion.  I also name all of the Pokemon I catch and try to form some bond with them.


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## Not Meowth (May 21, 2011)

Lili said:


> I train my Pokemon to be the best of the best


Like no-one ever was?


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## Green (May 21, 2011)

I have to use at least one pokemon based off a dinosaur on my team. I also usually replace at least one member of my team after I beat the main storyline. I use my normal team in the battle tower instead of an actual planned team. Same goes for competitive. On every team I have trouble deciding between any two pokemon for whatever reason.


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## Loffyglu (May 27, 2011)

I think, first and foremost, I would never, _ever_ be able to get rid of whatever Pokémon I have. |D; I just get, like... attached to things like that, especially animals, so that'd definitely carry over to PKMN Trainer Loffy. :B I'd do a lot of traveling, because I love sightseeing and such... but then get rather ill due to a combination of allergies and being horrendously out of shape (the latter would probably fade with time, though). I have a poor reaction time, though, so I think I'd actually fail as a Trainer at all; it's just EEE POKÉMON THEY'RE SO AWESOME AND FUN AND WHEE c: I suppose, that's what would draw me to it. And traveling. Because that's always fun~


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## Cloudsong (May 29, 2011)

-I rarely ever use my starter pokemon for battles, leaving it solely for contests and such :3

-I have 6 elite pokemon that are all the same level and EV'd, but all the other pokemon are trained casually and according to how I think their abilities and talents lie.

-Yes, I actually write backstories for every single one of my pokemon, all of which are nicknamed with cheesy nicknames that I come up with on the spot.

-I always have a level 90-something unevolved Eevee. Always. Nostalgic reasons<3

-Generally have a water, flying, fire, psychic, dark, and ghost types as my team.

-I save rare candies for evolving, not training xD

-My character's name is always Sky, Skylar, or Cloudy '.' Hehe.

-More, which I'm prob'ly forgetting.


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## voltianqueen (May 29, 2011)

*For the main story:*

~I always use my starter. I just pick the one I like best, which usually ends up being the Fire type..but not always.

~For first playthroughs, I usually just catch any cool stuff I find and use it, though sometimes I might have some vague idea of what I want to have. I always have a Flying-type for Fly and a Water-type for Surf (or Zigzagoon in Sapphire :P)

~Normally, I don't nickname the Pokemon on my "story" team or my legendaries, but I did start doing that in Black. I had a Samurott called Alfred and a Zebstrika called Choco Pie, so..no real theme there.

~I don't usually care about Natures or EVs or IVs, although in Black I was a little bit more aware of them.

~Usually most of my team is male, for whatever reason. In Black it was even.

*For post-game:*

~I only train Pokemon that I like. They have to have good stats, though!

~I breed to get perfect natures and IVs in the stats I want. If not perfect, than at least close or "good enough." My favorites are fast Pokemon and ones that have high offensive stats.

~After getting the baby I want, I level it up to 50 or so with Rare Candy. Then I EV train it with Pokerus and power items.. Once EVs are done, I level it to 100 with candy.

~I nickname every Pokemon I plan to use (with the exception of just a few). Some of them have to do with their appearance or type (Volt the Manectric), some are mythological (Hestia the Salamence), but most are pet names or people names (Queen the Tyranitar, Sammy the Jolteon).. I like to look up name meanings to match the looks or personality I imagine the Pokemon to have. Every now and then I'll name my pokes after people I know or characters from whatever I'm into at the time.


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## Crazy Linoone (May 31, 2011)

Well, since you want "strange" traits...

I talk to my pokemon out loud, if nobody is around (or if there's enough background noise so that nobody would hear me); otherwise, I "talk" to them inside my head. When I battle, I'll be urging my pokemon on and cheering when they manage to faint a tough opponent or if they survived a powerful attack with a sliver of HP left. 

During important battles when it is strategically better to allow a pokemon to faint so I can switch out without penalties, I'll apologize to my pokemon before they faint and explain to them why it must happen, and revive them the first chance I get. 

If I'm trying to capture a wild pokemon to purely to 'dex completion reasons, but said pokemon refuses to be captured, I'll promise them that I'll release them after I get their data entry and promptly do just that. Actually, I try to keep promises I make to my pokemon in general, and if I couldn't (or if I forgot about it and then remembered too late), I would buy them a Soda Pop or something and give it to them when it's not needed (as in, they almost have max health) to make up for it. 

... 

... I think I'm taking the games too seriously.


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## Dannichu (May 31, 2011)

^ That is absolutely _adorable _:3


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## Ever (Jul 20, 2011)

I also talk to my Pokemon. I nickname them all, and sometimes nickname them last syllable, first syllable.


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## Eloi (Jul 20, 2011)

I usually raise only one Pokemon, my starter, that I nickname and power-level, as well as try to make it as happy as possible, with a party of HM grunts with no names, and a whole bunch of boxes of captured Pokemon with no names or love ever shown. And then, because I have so many games, I pool them all into one super-party each gen. (Emerald's Swampert, Pearl's Infernape, and (planned) Black's Smugleaf.)


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## Ever (Jul 20, 2011)

I also use one box for Party Members (I currently have 7) one for trainees (4..or is it 5?) and one for contest Pokemon (4..or is it 5?)


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## The Omskivar (Jul 20, 2011)

I nickname my in-game team and usually nothing else.  Occasionally something will show up that I feel the urge to nickname, but usually not.  I think my Black has these Pokemon nicknamed:

Skipper the Samurott
Tyrone the Eelektross
Franny the Darmanitan
Adolf the Hydreigon
Carter the Sawk
Betsy the Leavanny
Amidala the Beheeyem
Jambo the Dragonite
Smaug the Kingdra
Leviathan the Kingler

And I think that's it.  I use plenty of other things in my team--Toxicroak, Weavile, Reshiram, Klinklang--but they don't have nicknames.  Only things that I feel like I need to nickname, which has recently only been things over Level 60.

The first time I play through a new generation I catch every new thing I see.  After that, it's only rares or things I particularly like.  Such as Cryogonal, Cubchoo, Ferroseed, Mienfoo.  Not things like Woobat or Roggenrola.

I also train Pokemon as evenly as possible, though my no-save Diamond playthrough is proving that to be difficult.  I get everything to Level 25, say, then the last thing to get to 25 is the first thing to get to 26.  Then everything gets to 26 one at a time.

An exception to this rule is when something desperately needs to evolve, such as my Sapphire Fighting mono's Meditite.  That got to Level 37 while everything else was 34.  I needed Ice Punch for Winona.

I also keep rotating my team after the main game.  My Diamond file has the most fill-ins, some legendary (though I _never_ use legendaries for in-game teams, aside from my N/Ghetsis battle where I used Reshiram because Garbodor sucks), but Black is where I rotate the most.  Toxicroak will probably be replaced by Hippowdon, and I all of a sudden really want a Cinccino to carry around.

I also have to use at least one new thing every time I restart a game, but I hate overlapping types.  Which makes choosing a Water type hell.  I hate Hoenn because its Grass-types and Fire-types are very limited, and having used Breloom, Ludicolo, Roselia, Sceptile, Bellossom and Vileplume that really only leaves Tropius (I refuse to use Shiftry) when I still have Wailord, Azumarill, Starmie, Seaking, and more to use.  I also hate Sinnoh because of all of its old Pokemon and its lack of diversely-typed 4th Gen Pokemon.  I want to use more than an Infernape, dammit, and I'm not using Rapidash because I need it for FireRed/LeafGreen runthroughs.

My head hurts now.


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## Dar (Jul 20, 2011)

Personaly I think my way of being a trainer is simple. If one of my pokemon`s level gets higher than the rest, I grind train them until they get that level too. Also, I dont step foot in the gym until all my pokemon are the level of the gym leader's strongest pokemon. Btw i nickname all my pokemon. Simple, right?


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## Ever (Jul 29, 2011)

> If one of my pokemon`s level gets higher than the rest, I grind train them until they get that level too. Also, I dont step foot in the gym until all my pokemon are the level of the gym leader's strongest pokemon.


I train mine five levels at a time. (60 to 65, switch, 60 to 65, switch)


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## Flora (Jul 31, 2011)

When my sisters and I were trying to catch the legendary dogs on Colosseum we'd imitate them. Yeah, we'd basically _roar at the screen_ - on four legs, no less. I don't even know. That was the only time we did that, mind you.

I seem to have taken up the habit of covering the Pokeball when I'm catching something, not sure why.

I tend to name my characters after friends, and when that happens I tend to end Pokemon after myself/my friends. That lends itself to amusing scenarios like the infamous "you should breed them!" conversation (in reference to Pokemon!me and Pokemon!my then-crush) and Pokemon!me dying within five minutes in a Nuzlocke (the story of which reduced one of my friends to hysterical laughter).

Otherwise, I usually give them nicknames, but not always.  I also make up teams but never use the planned ones because by the time I can catch the later members my beginning-game team is far superior.


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## DarkAura (Jul 31, 2011)

I'ma trainer who likes to train only one, maybe two pokemon at a time. I just use the other four so I have time to heal the other 2 in battle.


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## Mai (Aug 4, 2011)

It depends. I _always_ nickname my pokemon, creatively or not, and will not use them if they have no nickname. Unless it's a legendary, which I don't nickname or use. I don't reallly believe in that.



Blastoise Fortooate said:


> As for me, I can't for the life of me stick to a team for any length of time. I can manage to get through the League without getting too sidetracked, but after that I just keep switching from 'water monotype!' to 'flying monotype' to 'I want a shuppet!' and on and on. I also nickname _everything _but my legendaries.


That fits me pretty well! If by sticking to a team you mean not catching everything in sight. I often have over ten, and in White I'm pretty sure I have about fifteen or so. Which _all_ have to be the same level. However, the ones I'm planning to use for a gym are allowed to be above the rest as long I grind the rest up to par later. 

I have far too many superstitions. For example, I still mash buttons while trying to catch pokemon; it just feels wrong otherwise. Often when my pokemon is confused I cover up the animation with my thumb, as if not seeing it will help. Occasionally, I do cheer for my pokemon and things like that, but I'm not above fainting them to cause a win. I often develop personalities for them, like my starter being very competitive but sometimes serious. These often clash with natures, which I disregard because I often reset to get a good one.


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## Eta Carinae (Aug 4, 2011)

I used to just train my starter, and then beat the game like that.  Now I try and train six Pokemon, no legends, and beat the Elite 4 that way.  I've tried that on 3 games so far, and I've only actually beaten the E4 successfully on one of those occasions.  On Diamond I had possibly my favourite team, which had a Lucario, a Torterra, and an Alakazam among others I can't remember.  Next I tried it on HG, and that was the only time I managed to actually beat the Elite 4.  And that's because I grinded on bus rides on the band trip.  I tried it on my Black as well before my Mom, uh, got rid of it, but I had a horrible team.  My problem is my short attention span, meaning I absolutely despise grinding.

For nicknames, I originally just gave my Pokemon random ones I came up with.  Avenger the Salamence, Scorch the Ninetales, Sharpshark the Sharpedo, things like that that are mildly creative, but still make sense.  Now the last time I played through Black, and now on my White, I have a theme.  On Black everybody was named after a soccer/football player that I thought were fitting (Hooray for Ozil the Eelektross).  Now on White my main 6 are named after an Inception character.


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## Chief Zackrai (Aug 5, 2011)

Ampharos said:


> I used to just train my starter, and then beat the game like that.  Now I try and train six Pokemon, no legends, and beat the Elite 4 that way.  I've tried that on 3 games so far, and I've only actually beaten the E4 successfully on one of those occasions.  On Diamond I had possibly my favourite team, which had a Lucario, a Torterra, and an Alakazam among others I can't remember.  Next I tried it on HG, and that was the only time I managed to actually beat the Elite 4.  And that's because I grinded on bus rides on the band trip.  I tried it on my Black as well before my Mom, uh, got rid of it, but I had a horrible team.  My problem is my short attention span, meaning I absolutely despise grinding.



This, so much. It's pretty much why I can't deal with Nuzlocks for the most part (don't get me wrong, it's pretty much the only way I play) but I just _hate grinding._ Like on an Emerald Nuzlocke I was doing, I had six pokemon. Alright, decent enough team of Swampert, Claydol, Tropius, Kecleon, and a couple others I forget right now. I was in the middle of grinding them all to level 60 (literally, I had finished three and was moving onto the others) when I said "Forget this, I'll just go in with you three. (Swampert, Kecleon, and Claydol) Oddly enough I won. I was extremely happy.


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## CJBlazer (Nov 28, 2011)

I am a tyrainer because I love to battle. I burn with the heat of a Houndoom, and I have a heart of darkness to where I show no mercy to my opponent. That is me as a Trainer.


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## axolotlesque (Jan 9, 2012)

Hrm. Well, my starter never gets boxed. Ever. I also usually keep it at least 2-3 levels above the rest of the team, although I do try to keep everyone on mostly the same level. I also usually stick to one team for the majority of the game, and it's usually Pokemon that you find pretty early on, unless I have a favourite that you can't catch until later on, because I have a tendency of getting stupidly attached to the little bits of data and pixels that get me where I am. :p (I do go on long enough to create a balanced team, which is put together around my starter.) Since I keep my Pokemon around, I spread out my HMs between them and don't use slaves.

I'm also not a very strategic player whatsoever. I mean, sure, I keep type advantages/disadvantages in mind, but I don't really pay much attention to how natures affect stats and such. I don't have the patience to EV train, although I do tend to grind pretty often. When I'm grinding, I usually pick a random number that all of my Pokemon have to reach before I proceed. I also usually have my favourites in my team, regardless of their actual usefulness in-game. I also don't breed Pokemon, which means I don't take advantage of the option of getting a Pokemon with a superior movepool/stat set than the ones you can catch in the wild.

I nickname all my Pokemon (sometimes I get my dorkiness on and name them after fictional characters or songs and whatnot), and sometimes they're super lame but I don't use the name rater to change them as I grow attached to the lameness (see: 'Falafel' the Treecko). I also used to name them in the style of proper nouns, although that looks odd with everything else being in caps so I'll probably stop doing that when I restart my game/s. The names are usually some noun that have a tenuous connection to the Pokemon itself, or something stupid and random, so I don't often end up with a Pokemon with a 'normal' name.

I almost never use TM's in games where they're single-use and hoard them instead, because for some reason I'm afraid I'll choose something I'll want to replace due to practicality at some point and therefore have wasted it. Same with rare candies.

I try to catch one of every breed of Pokemon, even if I have no plans for it other than sticking it in my PC forever. Due to my habit of boxing Pokemon, I don't catch duplicates, either. (Despite this, I have never fully completed a Pokedex.) For some reason, I occasionally find myself having a preference on the gender of a certain Pokemon, and I'll wait around until I can catch one of that sex. I almost always play as a male trainer, though. Sometimes I play them with my nickname (which is gender neutral, so it works out), sometimes not, although the rival always keeps their canon name.

I don't release Pokemon because it makes me feel bad (which doesn't make a lot of sense for the ones that are just PC warmers) . This is one of the reasons I don't pay attention to natures, as like I said, I don't do duplicates either.

I try to keep my Pokemon as happy as possible and get upset if they faint or are poisoned (and I have to rush them to the Pokemon Center), and it makes me giddy whenever I find out my Pokemon like me. I talk to them in my head and always cheer them on when they're having a difficult battle. 

This doesn't have anything to do with me as a trainer, but I almost never finish a game completely because I tend to get distracted before I have the chance. I still mash the 'A' button while trying to catch a Pokemon. Habit, I guess.

(Wow, my first post in years is just me rambling about myself. XD Okay.
ETA: ...Holy shit, how did this get so huge??)


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## CJBlazer (Jan 9, 2012)

Well, if I really had to describe myself, here is what I will say.

I am a trainer and will raise any Pokemon with care. However, I will not bother raising those Pokemon that are destined to be lame. I will raise those Pokemon that are weak, only if they end up becoming strong. However, my team will be amazing and strong. I shall raise weak Pokemon, but they shall not do any battle, for they are unworthy of battling alongside me.

As for opponents, I simply love battling. I can never back down from a fight and if I lose, I get back up and continue battling until I have beaten them. There is nothing I cannot overcome.


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## Cerberus87 (Jan 9, 2012)

I always use the starter, plus a bunch of Pokémon that look cool... I like to have my team complete before going for the 8th badge, for roleplaying reasons... I always have a fire, water, electric and bird (more specific than flying) types, unless I start with the grass type (very rarely though). The bird is usually the first ones you can catch. The water one is usually Gyarados since there are only a few water Pokémon that I like.

I powerlevel a lot and usually beat the gyms on my first try.


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